Meet the Director

I came to ETBU in 2010 after teaching for 22 years on the university level. I love being here—and I especially enjoy being part of the University Scholars Program. The students are earnest and inquisitive. And they are eager to explore their academic pursuits from a Christian worldview. We keep the honors courses small so that teachers and students can interact more freely and forge close relationships. In my honors world literature class, we work hard, but we enjoy times of social refreshment as well. One of our traditions in this class happens as the school year comes to a close. My wife and I invite the students into our home for a time of good food and fellowship—always a satisfying way to conclude the semester.

I also enjoy our book discussions each semester. This fall we will venture into C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. We meet in the evenings over coffee and snacks or sometimes dinner. The discussions are always stimulating, and they give us the chance to explore in a more informal setting what it means to be a person of faith. We talk about God and life in ways that are refreshingly honest. And I appreciate the way the students are sincerely tapped into the pursuit of both knowledge and godly wisdom.

My own scholarly interests are varied. I love the works of Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner. And I a have a deep affection for the writings of C.S. Lewis. I love the Bible—both its prose and poetry. And I am always amazed at its power to convict hearts and change lives.

On a personal note, my wife and I have been married for 16 years. We love to travel, and we also like a little adventure in our lives. We’ve been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane at 10,000 feet, dog sled on a glacier in Alaska, soar high in the sky in a hot air balloon, and raft down the Snake River in Wyoming. We’ve even walked through King Hezekiah’s tunnel in Jerusalem and floated in the Dead Sea.

The most adventurous thing I do on a daily basis, however, is to walk into a classroom full of students and try to instill in them an excitement for reading and writing. I want to make a difference in the lives of my students. And when teaching becomes as Arthur Holmes says, “an act of love, of worship, of stewardship, a wholehearted response to God,” then teaching can indeed make an eternal difference. And that’s, bottom line, why I teach – to glorify God and to impact the lives of my students for eternity.

I hope you will join us next year. We look forward to offering even more great University Scholars classes and to getting to know a new group of Scholars!

For more information or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at scoppinger@etbu.edu

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him, and He will direct your paths. (Pro. 3:5-6)